


YOUTH

by writingstylinson



Series: YOUTH [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: ABDL, Ageplay, America, Caregiver, Caregiver Liam, Convention, Insecure Louis, Little, M/M, Nonsexual Ageplay, Shy Louis, caregiver harry, little Niall, little louis, romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-02-23 02:15:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingstylinson/pseuds/writingstylinson
Summary: Louis steps out of his comfort zone to attend a convention a few states over.It turns out to be one of the best decisions that Louis has ever made.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Liam Payne
Series: YOUTH [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860262
Comments: 68
Kudos: 318





	1. Team Raccoon

**Author's Note:**

> Fair Warning: This is very different from my other works. The entire story is centered around Louis being a Little, which is someone who regresses to the age of a young child or even an infant. 
> 
> I did not have a beta to work on this piece with, and well... I did not have a whole lot of time to write this period. There were a handful of different stories that I tried to write but writer's block kicked my ass. Then I finally ended up with this little idea. I completely understand if this isn't your taste, but just know that my future stories will contain other things. This story is something that helped me get out of a rut. 
> 
> Please be open minded and I hope you enjoy what this story has to offer!

The yellow cab slows down to a complete stop underneath the porte-cochere. Between the recessed light fixtures in the concrete and light that pours through the sliding glass doors, Louis forgets for a moment what time of day it is. Seven o'clock isn’t too late by any means, but it’s still later than he had originally hoped to arrive here by. He swings his backpack over his shoulder and then steps out onto the pavement, the wheels on his suitcase clacking against the hard surface. 

Louis pushes the yellow door and then winces from how hard he must have shut it. To be fair his nerves are through the roof if the tremble in his hands is anything to go by. “Backpack, suitcase, phone,” Louis murmurs to himself as he checks off each item. Then his eyes flick up to meet a pair that’s already looking back at him. “Tip!” Louis squeaks out and scrambles to pull a few dollars out of his wallet before handing it to the man. His face flushes, “M’sorry.” 

The older man rolls his eyes and puts the car in drive before leaving Louis stranded. 

“No turning back now,” Louis brings his free hand up to his mouth and starts to chew on his thumbnail. There’s nothing to worry about. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. He’s going to go check himself in then go to his hotel room and sleep. That’s all he has to do. Louis shakes his head as he grabs the handle of his suitcase and then walks through the sliding doors that lead into the main lobby. 

Louis takes a sharp breath. 

Everything about Chicago must be crowded. Louis can tell that there are at least thirty other people in the lobby, but thankfully at least half of them appear to be caught up in a conversation instead of checking in. He steps into the line leading up to the front desk and takes the time to have a proper look at the people around him. If Louis didn’t know better then he would be seeing a bunch of regular people living their regular lives. He does know though. He knows that most, if not all, of these people, are like himself. 

“I can take whoever is next,” A young woman calls. 

Louis tears his eyes away from the crowd and makes his way up to the front desk. The woman has on a solid blue button-up and an uncomfortable smile. He has on the latter as well. “Uh,” Louis flicks his eyes to the granite countertop, “Louis Tomlinson. I made reservations about a month ago.” 

The murmurs around Louis almost drown out the typing of a keyboard. He clears his throat with a scrunch of his nose and folds his hand on top of the barrier placed between him and the employee. It feels so obvious that he doesn’t go out and interact with other people a whole lot. 

“You’re up in room two hundred thirty, sir.” 

“Thank you,” Louis flashes a quick smile and takes the key card from her. There’s no doubt in his mind that he would be the one person to swap it with his credit card by accident. He does like the black lion head silhouette against the gold background though. 

Louis shakes the thought from his head while he grabs a hold of his suitcase, and the wheels echo as they start to roll against the tile. He looks up from the floor to see that there’s a handful of people gathered in front of the two elevators. Maybe it’s best that he takes the stairs. Louis screws his lips to the side and peers down at his suitcase. It’s not the biggest size by any means and the heaviest thing in it is his laptop. Stairs it is. 

There’s a door off to the right that has a sign hung above it with the image of a stick figure walking up a flight of stairs. Louis pulls the door open and then starts his way up to the second floor. The bottom of his suitcase manages to his every single step, but Louis doesn’t have the energy to pick the thing up and carry it. Sure, that might make the short trip go quicker and quieter, but now isn’t the time to dwell on something like that. 

Louis steps out of the stairwell and into a narrow hallway lined with nothing but identical doors. They’re all stained with a mahogany color and paired with a silver colored handle. If it weren’t for the blue plaques with numbers beside each door then he’s certain that he would be lost for hours. This is why Louis doesn’t like to travel. Everything is so overwhelming compared to being cooped up inside his apartment. 

To Louis’ luck, his room is only a handful of doors down to his left. He swipes the key card and then pushes open the door to reveal his standard hotel room. It has one king sized bed to the left of the night stand and then a long couch to the right that also pulls out into a second bed as needed. On the other wall, across from the couch, is a desk with a flat screen TV hung above it that can be pulled out further and angled towards the bed. 

The door falls shut behind Louis and he abandons his suitcase so he can fling himself onto the bed. Soft. Comfortable. Clean. He inhales the scent of nothing as he nuzzles his face into the white duvet. As long as Louis can put aside his nerves of being away from home, then he’s sure that he’ll have no problem falling asleep tonight along with the entire weekend. He starts to move his arms and legs in the same motion he would use to make a snow angel, and it has him erupt into a fit of giggles. He’s never slept on a bed this big before. 

The sound of Louis’ stomach growling for food causes him to stop what he’s doing. He hasn’t eaten since early this morning. An entire trip to another state had him nervous enough to fear he would throw up anything he tried to eat. Louis sits himself upright on the bed and eyes the phone sat beside the only lamp in the room. It’s an older one as it still has a cord connecting it to the wall. Given how busy it was downstairs, Louis is almost certain that the kitchen will be just as busy. Maybe he’ll go down to the ground floor and see what is offered without needing a cook.

After a trip to the bathroom and making sure Louis had both his key card and iphone, he makes his way back down to the ground floor. The lobby appears to be less crowded than it was not even half an hour ago. Louis walks past the entrance of the hotel and into a dining area that’s equipped with enough food to hold him over for a night. There’s only a handful of tables, and there’s a row of cabinets against the far wall that has a vast selection of items to consume. All of it is far from something he imagines would be at a luxury hotel, but it’s still a nice thought.

Louis grabs a plate off of the stack and looks at the selection of foods he can grab. If he wanted to, he could order a meal off of the menu but it’s a lot easier if he doesn’t have to talk to anyone. A couple of bread rolls and spaghetti will hold him over for sure. Louis finishes putting the items onto his plate before his eyes land on the small dessert table. “Have some restraint,” he murmurs, “I’ll get something if I finish what’s on my plate. Yeah.” 

Despite having the option of nearly every seat in the room, Louis settles down at the table closest to him. Gosh, his stomach is still in knots. He decides to start small and tears a piece of bread off one of the rolls then plops it into his mouth. Not bad. It’s not hot from the oven or anything as it’s probably been sitting out here for an hour. He doesn’t mind though. Breakfast and dinner came free with Louis’ booking so the last thing on his mind is to complain. 

Louis tears another piece of bread and sighs. The first day of the convention starts tomorrow at eight in the morning, which is quite early even without the time difference of an hour. Louis has never been to a convention, period. So he has absolutely no idea if a lot of people show up the second it opens or if it takes a little bit longer. The last thing he wants to do is show up earlier than almost everyone else. 

Maybe Louis won’t even go at all. 

No. No, Louis paid nearly one hundred dollars to be able to attend all three days. That doesn’t include the cost of flying or his own hotel room. He saved up all year to be able to come here. Louis pushes his plate of food to the side and let’s his head rest on his arms. Maybe he should have made some friends online that are in the community so they could be helping him through these doubts right now. That probably would make things a whole lot easier. 

“Excuse me?” 

Louis takes a deep breath and then lifts his head up to see two people standing on the other side of the table. 

“Hi, we noticed your hat-” 

Despite knowing what the hat looks like, Louis still tries to peer up at it. The snapback is discreet with it being a solid black aside from the grey bib and racoon character on the front. That’s why he’s never been that afraid to wear it out in public. 

“So we were wondering if it was all right if we ate with you,” The man finishes. He’s a taller man with ink covering both of his well defined arms. Between the kind smile and warm brown eyes, Louis can’t help but agree to let them sit with him. “Thank you. I’m Liam and this is Niall.” 

The second man seated between Louis and Liam is around the same height as himself with dyed-blond hair. “I’m team giraffe,” he says with a thick accent and motions towards his own snapback. Instead of a grey and black racoon, it’s a yellow and blue giraffe. They’re both PeekABU hats. They’re both hats that come from a company that’s entirely dedicated to making items for people that are part of the AB/DL community. A community of people who like to wear diapers and act like babies. “Team racoon is cool too though,” Niall says around a mouthful of food. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Liam gives the man a look before turning his attention back to Louis with a smile. 

Louis twirls the spaghetti around his fork as he flicks his eyes between the two men, “are you both Littles?” 

For a moment the only thing that can be heard is everyone chewing, then Liam shakes his head, “I’m a caregiver. Niall is a Little though, my Little. Do you have a caregiver?” 

A caregiver. No, Louis doesn’t have a caregiver. He doesn’t have anyone at all. No one in his family knows and there’s no way he would ever share that information with a coworker. Instead, Louis hides himself away in his apartment to watch Winnie The Pooh and read picture books. There’s no one to chase him down for bathtime. There’s no one to clean his face after eating apple sauce. There’s no one to make sure he’s given a kiss goodnight. It’s only him. It has been ever since he realized who he truly was. 

Louis looks up to see a crease in Liam’s forehead and a slight frown. There’s nothing to say that the man doesn’t already know. 

“Would you like to meet up with us tomorrow before we head down to the convention?” Liam offers with a hesitant smile. “It’ll be Niall, myself, and another caregiver that’s a great friend of ours. He doesn’t have a little of his own but he still likes to come to these sort of events. Niall is regressed a lot of the time so sometimes Harry will come watch him if I have to run some errands or something.” 

Louis’ eyebrows furrow together and he looks over at Niall, “You’re able to just… regress most of the time?” 

“Yupp!” Niall says with a wild nod, “Liam takes his role as caregiver very seriously. If I wanted, I wouldn’t have to work a job or handle any sort of responsibilities. I like being able to have some sort of independence though, you know?”

Liam leans over and presses a kiss to the Little’s head, “So what do you say? Would you like to meet up tomorrow? I know these events can be daunting for Littles as is, let alone for their first time.” 

A blush creeps up Louis’ face and he squirms in his seat. It must be obvious that he’s both a Little and attending this event for the first time. Maybe this entire trip will have actually been a good thing. “I would like that a lot.” 


	2. The Precious Puppy

A white wristband is fastened around Louis’s wrist and then he’s handed a matching lanyard with an empty name card slipped into the clear pouch. He glances over to see Liam and Niall with matching wristbands and lanyards. From his understanding, they’re all color-coded: white is for the regular people attending the convention, yellow is for any staff members, and red is for the board members. Louis walks over to the table and watches as Niall writes down his pronouns along with a title of sorts in place of his name. 

“What’s The Precious Puppy?” 

Niall flashes him a toothy grin as he slides the lanyard back over his head, “It’s the name of my YouTube channel. I post a lot of content on there relating to this type of stuff, so now any viewers know for sure that it’s me and can come to say hi.” 

Why didn’t Louis know there were people who made YouTube videos regarding ageplay? 

Before Louis can ask any questions, Liam is already starting to lead them down a hallway to the locker room. The whole convention is taking place in the same hotel they’re all staying in but there does appear to be a safe barrier between them and the people that aren’t a part of this. It certainly helps to calm any nerves about being found out by anyone Louis knows. He flew to a convention a few states away on purpose. 

“Ni Ni, are you going to need any help?” Liam asks as he cards his fingers through the Irish man’s bleached hair. 

Louis turns his attention away to give the two of them a little bit of privacy. No phones and no bags. He tucks his cellphone away into the backpack he brought with before he eventually tucks it away into the locker. There aren’t a whole lot of rules aside from the basics. As long as he isn’t running around naked or sneaking pictures of anyone then he’s fine. 

“We’re all set if you are,” Liam smiles. 

Niall cheers when Louis nods, “Let’s do this!” 

Louis can’t help but shake his head to himself with a fond smile. If only he could be that loud and confident. The three of them start to head out of the locker room when Louis catches himself in the mirror. There’s an obvious between how he dressed compared to the other Littles he has already seen. Niall has on brown overall shorts paired with a dinosaur print t-shirt and a pacifier clipped to it. Louis has a different look with black skinny jeans and a grey hoodie that has the ears of a raccoon on the hood. Nothing about him screams Little. He couldn’t pull himself to even grab his favorite stuffed animal, let alone put on a diaper. Maybe as the day goes by he’ll start to feel more comfortable. 

A squeal pulls Louis from his thoughts and he looks over to see Niall rush over to the first booth. It’s a black canopy with a sign propped up against it in purple letters: Lil Kink Boutique. He knows that a lot of people in the community find the ageplay to be a kink, but he isn’t one of those people. For himself, it’s a safe place that allows him to forget any worries that come with being an adult that lives on his own. 

“I got one for you,” Niall chirps and slides a silicone bracelet over Louis’ wrist that has the name engraved. A freebie to help advertise the little shop. 

“Thank you,” Louis adjusts it from where it snagged against the hair on his arm. 

Niall skips back over to the stand and holds up an orange collar for Liam to see, “Look, Daddy.” 

“I see, Precious. I think you have enough collars at home though,” Liam chuckles but takes the collar and inspects it. 

Louis brings his thumb up to his mouth and sucks on it. Is the whole day really going to turn into him being the third wheel? They are cute. Though, it does remind him how he’s alone in all of this. There is no caregiver waiting at home for him. 

As Liam and Niall look through the various collars, Louis decides to take a glance at the other items. There’s a handful of ageplay necessities like patterned diapers, baby bottles with characters on them, and even pacifier clips. He picks up one of the latter that’s a caterpillar stuffed animal with a loop to hold the pacifier in place where the mouth is. It’s definitely something Louis wouldn’t mind taking home with him. There’s only so much money in his pocket though so it’s best to have a look at everything before buying. 

“Harry!” Niall screeches, causing Louis to turn around to finally meet Liam and Niall’s friend they’re meant to spend the day with. The man bounces with a grin on his face, “Harry, meet-” 

A familiar drawl cuts the man off, “-Louis.” 

Louis can already feel the heat flood throughout his face as he stands still. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for this. This wasn’t even a thought that had crossed his mind. In all of the scenarios Louis had stressed over, coming face to face with Harry at this convention was not one of them. 

“Do you two know each other?” Liam asks with a furrowed brow. 

“Uh yeah,” Harry scratches at the exposed skin that’s rubbing against the yellow lanyard, “Louis just so happens to be the book restorer at the library I work at.” He turns his attention from the pair to look at the flustered man, “I didn’t know this was the reason you asked to have Thursday and Friday off.” 

No one in their right mind would ask their boss to have time off work to go to a convention for ageplayers. 

“We could have flown here together if I had known.” 

Louis can’t manage much of a response other than to shrug his shoulders. The two of them might have been working together for almost a year, but making conversation hasn’t ever been his strong suit. Especially when he’s developed a hopeless crush on the man. All that does is leave him stuttering and blushing until he ultimately runs off to hide away in his office. Aside from a janitor and occasional people that come and go, it’s only ever the two of them. All of that time together and he had no idea that Harry was even coming to Chicago. 

Liam clears his throat, obvious that everyone can feel the tension, “How about we all head over to the next vendor? It looks like they’re handing out free stickers.” 

“That sounds like a great idea,” Harry grins. 

Two arms wrapped around Louis’ neck and then Niall is jumping onto his back, “Piggyback ride, Lou-Lou!” He stumbles from the sudden weight added on top of him and ends up stumbling into Harry, who steadies him back upright. 

“Careful there, love.” 

“Niall,” Liam says with an unimpressed look, “You know better than to behave like that. Did you ask Louis first?” 

The Irish man slides off of Louis’ back with a frown, then shakes his head. 

“That’s right. You need to be more careful. What if Louis had fallen? Then both of you could’ve gotten hurt. We don’t need to start the day off with any boo-boos already.” 

Niall skips over to Liam and jumps up into his arms, “M’sorry, Daddy.” 

The taller frame of Harry’s body leans towards Louis, “They’re like this a lot of the time. I’m always that awkward third wheel following after them, so it’s nice to have someone to be the odd one out with me.” 

A giggle erupts out of Louis’ chest. 

Then there’s a wide grin on Harry’s face, his dimples on full display, “That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh.” 

Louis brings his hands up to cover his mouth, as if it’ll take his laughter back, and blood blooms through his cheeks in a blush. 

“Don’t worry, it was cute,” Harry tries to reassure as he continues to smile. 

How on Earth did Louis end up in this situation? The odds of running into Harry at this convention are so slim, yet here they are. How is he even supposed to act? Then again, Louis isn’t sure he could act any different than he has the entire time they’ve known one another. There’s no turning back from this though. It’s so unlikely that they would return to work on Monday and act as if this entire encounter never happened. 

“Lou-Lou!” Niall screeches, pulling Louis and Harry from their conversation, “Let’s get matching blankets!” He then holds up an all-yellow blanket with the hood disguised to look like the giraffe character from ABUniverse. There’s another blanket folded up on the table for the Racoon one. 

“How much is it?” Louis asks even though he’s already looking at the orange sticker on it. Fifty dollars in total. As cute as it is and how much he wants it, there’s no way he can spend that kind of money on a blanket. 

Harry starts to search through his pockets, “I can get it for you, Louis. Really, it’s no trouble at all.” He puts a hand up as if it’ll stop Louis from his protests, “I want to, okay? I have a feeling you’ll use this and appreciate it more than me splurging on beer and takeout.” Harry then reaches around Louis and hands the woman a credit card, “The raccoon blanket, please.”

“You really didn’t have to,” Louis brings his hands up to his cheeks as he watches the woman stuff the blanket into a bag, “I can pay you back for it when I go back to my room.” 

“It’s really not an issue. I wanted to do this for you, okay? Now you and Niall can match.” 

With a huff, Louis looks over to see Niall already tugging the hood of the blanket over his head. 

“Daddy, can we go play now? I want to go play in that big ball pit!” 

It would be a lie if Louis said he wasn’t itching to start playing with all of the toys they had. From what Niall had mentioned last night and the information in the email, he understood that the play area had nearly everything one would expect. Plus it was all scaled up for adult-sized Littles. There were rocking horses, foam blocks, a swing made from a trampoline, and even a full-sized baby walker.

All of it is probably a bit more exciting for Louis since he doesn’t have a whole lot of toys at home. Aside from his picture books, a few stuffed animals, and some easy puzzles, there isn’t much. Some people have their entire home renovated to look like a Little’s paradise set with a crib and changing table even. Louis is still in the closet, so to speak. All the items he has are things he’s able to put off as being leftover from his youngest siblings. 

The four of them walk past the handful of vendors that line the wall before turning into the open room. It’s an area that’s certainly big enough for someone to host a wedding in. From everything going on, Louis isn’t sure where to focus his attention first. A lot of Littles are recognizable from their footy pajamas to crawling along the floor on all fours. In the middle of the room is a giant ball pit that could fit around ten people with a net wrapped around all sides. He can definitely understand why Niall wanted to come here first. 

“Precious Puppy!” A voice squeals. Three Littles come up to Niall and have the biggest grins on their faces, “Hi, we love your videos!” 

Louis watches as Niall starts to fall into a conversation with them, and looks around the room with hesitance. There isn’t a whole lot of confidence in his body if Niall ends up leaving to go play with them instead. He starts to chew on the tip of his thumb. Maybe Louis can start off small by playing with the foam blocks off in the corner of the room. That could be a good jumping-off point. 

“Would you like to play blocks with me?” Harry leans down to ask with warmth in his voice, his hand outstretched for Louis to grab a hold of. “We can meet up with Liam and Niall in a little bit for lunch.” 

If it’s because Louis knows Harry more than anyone else here or the fact that Harry has noticed that he’s uncomfortable, he’s not sure, but Louis nods anyways and takes the man’s hand. 

  
  


The two of them cross the room before they settle down on the colorful rug with numbers on it. Harry is the first to make a move by starting to collect a handful of blocks and putting them down between them. “I was thinking we could build a castle maybe, what do you think?” 

Louis knows that Harry is taking the lead in hopes of getting him to relax. He knows it. If the two of them were anywhere else or Louis wasn’t so anxious, to begin with, then maybe he would have run off to his room by now. No, he definitely would’ve. This is the situation though. This man is the only person Louis knows, in a sense at least, so maybe that’s why there’s little resistance with his next choice of words. “How about we build a farm? Then we can put those plastic horses in the stables like a real farm.” 

A warm chuckle causes goosebumps to rise on Louis’ arms, “That sounds perfect.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? I hope you liked it. 
> 
> This is definitely like... cute? Like it's cute and fun to write. So comment below if you'd be interested in me writing more works like this.


	3. Ball Pit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter was written like... freestyle? No outline or anything. That's not something I've done in years, believe it or not. So hopefully it all still flows together and is enjoyable to read like the previous chapters. I hope you like this update! One more chapter after this!

Louis reaches down between his legs and tries his best to adjust the diaper through his clothes. The only times he’d ever wear a diaper was when he was alone and at home, so he’d rarely wear any pants over them. Today he’s got on not only a pair of overall shorts but an onesie as well. The fit isn’t something Louis is exactly used to. It hasn’t even been thirty minutes though so he’s sure it won’t be too uncomfortable for much longer. 

“I was here yesterday,” Louis winces at the awkward explanation as he holds his wristband up to be seen. The woman lets him walk through into convention. Why must he be socially inept? He sighs and slides the white sleeve of his sweater back down. 

Now Louis needs to go search for Liam and Niall. Maybe if he hadn’t slept through his alarm then he could have arrived down here with them, but last night was a long one. Yesterday had been a lot to take in and try to make sense of. 

Once Harry had led Louis over to play with the blocks, the two of them had played together until the time lunch rolled around. It was a nice experience. Louis hadn’t let himself slip into headspace, as nice as that might have been, and let Harry drive their conversation. A lot of it was questions directed towards him before he eventually decided they should take turns asking questions. All while they built a barn big enough to fit every animal figurine the place had.

The entire exchange had been pleasant, but a whole night to Louis’ self left him with a lot of unanswered questions. What if the time Harry and he spent together was nothing but a fluke? What if Harry starts to randomly find him to be a freak? What if Harry spills the secret to their entire town once they go back home? What if Louis can never look the man in the eye again after this whole trip is over with? 

“Lou-Lou!” Niall rushes across the room and over to Louis before he engulfs him in a hug, “I missed you!” 

“I saw you like half an hour ago,” Louis chuckles and hugs the man back. It was true. Liam and Niall had swung by his room on their way down to the convention only to find that their knocking was what finally woke him up. Louis had urged them to head down without him and that he would get ready before meeting them downstairs. 

Niall pouts, “Half an hour felt like forever.”

Louis rolls his eyes but hugs Niall even closer to himself, “Where’s Harry?” 

“He’s helping set up for the pageant,” Liam stretches his arms over his head, “They needed some extra helpers so that’s where he is at the moment.” 

“Pageant?” 

“Yeah, you read the confirmation email with the schedule, right?” 

Louis scrunches up his nose as he tries to remember any mention of a pageant. Of course, he had read the email. Hell, he studied that thing forwards and backward because his anxiety was so high. 

“The thing starts at like four, I think,” Liam rubs the back of his neck as his eyebrows knit together in thought, “I believe they’re still taking sign-ups if you’re interested in that. They do like baby wear, talent, and… I forget what else.” 

“No thank you,” Louis says with a shake of his head. 

Niall throws his head back and cackles, then claps a hand on Louis’ shoulder, “I didn’t think you’d take him up on that.” He turns to look at Liam, “Can Louis and I go play now?” 

“You may, but just stay where I can see you, okay?” 

Without waiting for Liam to even finish his sentence, Niall has already grabbed a hold of Louis’ hand and started running off. “They have an arts and crafts area we can do! Eleanor had said that there’s a bunch of things to decorate like diapers and t-shirts.” 

Decorate diapers? Louis doesn’t have any time to ask questions or protest before Niall is dragging him to sit down at the table. There’s a handful of other Littles, and surprisingly enough most of them are decorating what looks to be diapers. 

Niall slides one in front of Louis before grabbing one for himself, “I’m thinking of doing a glittery dog. What do you think?” 

“Uh, whatever makes you happy,” Louis shrugs and looks over the selection of coloring utensils. There are Crayola markers, foam stickers, and even some paint. Who came up with this idea in the first place? He shakes his head to himself and grabs what’s probably the only pencil on the entire table. It’s best if he can sketch out the idea before committing to it. 

After a few failed sketches, Louis decides it’s best if he goes simple. He sets the pencil down then grabs a blue marker, and starts to color in the rough image of a shark. Simple. Easy. Most importantly, he can copy the pattern of sharks that are all over his onesie. Never draw without a reference, right? Man, he’s such a dork. 

“This doesn’t look much like a puppy.” 

Louis lifts his head and peers over at the mess in front of his new friend. It’s definitely abstract. Niall had gone with green glitter and it’s everywhere. It’s all over the diaper. It’s stuck to the man’s hands. It’s even managed to be spilled down the front of his shirt. What was this man doing? He sighs and shakes his head to himself, “You’re a handful for Liam, aren’t you?” 

A toothy grin response, “You know it!” 

“Niall James Horan-” Liam walks over with wide eyes and his mouth hung open, “What happened?” 

Niall sticks his bottom lip out, “There was glitter.”

No words or even a coherent thought come to mind as Louis looks between the two of them. A part of him is expecting Liam to raise his voice and spank the Little. The other part of him is still in shock over how Niall managed to make such a mess. Maybe it’s best that he doesn’t take an eye off of Niall when it’s only the two of them. 

Another person joins the conversation, “-Whoa, what happened here?” 

Despite knowing full well who it is, Louis turns to look anyways. Harry has his yellow lanyard wrapped around his fist, and then he flicks it so it unravels before wrapping around his hand again. 

“Little Niall found out that they have glitter,” Liam says with a shake of his head. He wipes the damp paper towel over Niall’s stretched out hands. 

Harry chuckles and tips his head down to take a look at Louis’ project, “I’m not surprised. You’ve always struck me as the practical type.” Then their gazes meet. “Are you having a little difficulty with going into headspace? This place went all out to make you guys feel comfortable enough to regress. This is a safe place.” 

** * * * * * **

A red ball bounces off of Louis’ nose and causes giggles bubble from his chest. He picks up the nearest ball to him, a bright yellow one, and tosses it at Niall’s head. The ball bounces off and into the netting before it falls back into the pit of other colorful plastic balls. Louis has honestly lost track of time since Niall and he had jumped in, but he’s never had this much fun before in his entire life. With a dramatic sigh, he lets himself fall backward and sinks a few inches into the ball pit. 

“Daddy,” Niall stands up with a ball in one hand and a pacifier in the other, “I need a change!” 

“Let's get you situated then, Precious.” 

Niall steps over Louis’ body and climbs out of the giant ball pit to his caregiver. 

Harry peeks his head through the opening in the netting, “I think it’s time you got out too, Louis. Everyone’s gonna go find their seats for the pageant soon.” 

“Do I have to?” Louis groans and rolls over onto his stomach. Maybe these colorful balls will suffocate him. As long as he doesn’t need to exert any energy in moving, he’s happy. 

“Not necessarily, but I would appreciate it if you did.” 

Louis grumbles, “Fine.” As easy as it might sound, crawling out of a ball pit is way harder than how it looks. Another Little could be buried underneath or a ball pit monster could be trying to claw his feet down into the depths of the pit. 

“Up we go,” Harry grabs under Louis’ armpits and lifts him out into safety. 

Silence is thick between Harry and Louis once they’re both steady on the ground. Did Harry just pick Louis up? Did his boss seriously do that? His lips are parted in shock while he sees an equally shocked face on Harry. 

“I-” Harry’s whole face flushes pink and he coughs into his fist, “It was instinct. From all of the times I’ve babysat Niall, I guess… I just didn’t even think before acting.” 

What does Louis even say to that? It’s not like Harry had bumped into him or something. A grown man picked him up as if he were a child. As if he were Harry’s Little. “Um,” he looks down at his sock-covered feet with a furrow in his brow, “It’s okay, I think. No harm done or whatever.” 

Harry reaches a hand around to rub at the back of his neck, in a similar predicament as Louis, “It was weird and out of line, I’m really sorry. I feel as though we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better during this trip than we have in the past year of working together, and I hope this doesn’t like affect anything. I guess I’ve kind of started to take on a protective role as I do with Niall.” 

This man has started to care enough about Louis that he’s become protective. This was not something he had ever imagined happening. Ever. 

“Harry! Lou-Lou!” Niall chirps with a wild wave, “I’m all clean now!” 

“Are you two okay? I hope we didn’t interrupt anything,” Liam claps a hand on Harry’s shoulder and flashes a warm smile in Louis’ direction. 

“You didn’t interrupt-” 

“No-”

Louis and Harry visibly wince. That wasn’t obvious at all or anything. 

“As long as you two are sure,” Liam smirks and then nods his head towards an archway, “How about we all go grab a seat early so we can sit together.” 

“I uh, I need to go use the restroom really quick. You guys go ahead though, okay? I’ll catch up with you guys in a few.” Did that sound panicked? It probably sounded panicked. Before he can dwell on it or let anyone speak up, he hurries off in the direction of the nearest bathroom. 

Is Louis overthinking this too much? Maybe it isn’t as big of a deal he’s making it out to be. Should he have let the whole situation fade away like it never even happened? He’s making this into something so much bigger than it actually is. So what if his boss picked him up like anyone would with a toddler? 

Louis pulls the door shut behind him and locks it. Never before has he appreciated a family bathroom so much. He runs a hand through his hair and plops down onto the closed toilet seat. Why is this freaking him out so much? Maybe it’s the added fact that Harry is literally Louis’ boss. 

There’s a knock at the door followed by a timid voice, “Louis, are you in there? Let’s talk about this.” 

Silence. 

“Please don’t clam up on me like you do at work,” Harry sighs, “Please. I don’t know how you feel about all of this stuff, but I really don’t want things to go back to how they used to be. I like being able to see you smile and hear you laugh. I like getting to finally see you come out of your shell.” 

Louis chews on his bottom lip and unlocks the door. 

Without missing a beat, Harry slips inside and shuts it behind himself.

“You make me nervous,” Louis admits as he keeps his eyes glued to the floor, “And this whole trip has been kind of confusing. I’ve never been very good at reading people. One part of me feels like you’re trying to step into a caregiver role for me out of pity. Then the other half of me has to remind myself that you’re just being nice with no ulterior motive. My head just… it likes to jumble things up into a big tangly mess and I have no idea where to start with unraveling it.” 

Harry takes a small step forward, then proceeds to wrap Louis up into his arms after making sure the Little isn’t scared of him. “I know that my being here has added more stress to your experience here and I’m very sorry about that. I’m not sorry for getting to learn more about you and getting to build more of a relationship with you though. It’s all I’ve wanted since the day we started working together.” 

Louis tilts his head to the side as he looks up at Harry. What? 

“Don’t act so surprised,” Harry brushes a few loose strands of hair out of Louis’ face, “I was starting to think you didn’t like me and I had no idea what I did to offend you. Now I know that you were just scared. It’s scary to be a Little in such a small town where people don’t understand and gossip spreads like wildfire. That’s your business to share if or whenever you want, not mine. That being said, I am very interested in taking you out on a date sometime. Maybe I could even become your Caregiver in the near future if you can feel like you trust me enough.” Harry peers down at the screen of his phone and frowns, “That can be a conversation we can have later though, okay? Right now we need to go catch up with our friends and enjoy ourselves.” 

All Louis can do is nod. 


	4. Slipped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, unfortunately, is shorter than the rest. I had a bit of a hectic week so between having little time and exhaustion, this is the result. I hope it doesn't disappoint but I understand if it does.

Louis swings his backpack over his right shoulder and then adjusts the lanyard from where it got caught under the strap. Despite sitting through a three-hour-long pageant, he’s trying to keep his head upright. He raises a fist to rub the sleepiness from his eyes. Does he even have the energy to order room service once he heads back? Maybe he can steal a few things from the buffet on his way up to his hotel room. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Louis,” Liam smiles as he hooks an arm around Niall’s shoulders. 

Niall bounces and pipes in, “He’s taking me to a fancy restaurant down the street.” 

“That sounds really nice, I hope you two have fun.” Louis flicks his hair out of his eyes and gives them a genuine smile. The two of them make a cute couple. He certainly wouldn’t complain about having a relationship similar to theirs. Then again, having anyone in his life accepting who he is would be a bit of a miracle in itself. 

The two men head out of the automatic doors, and Louis makes his way towards the dining area. Maybe he can get his hands on a chocolate cupcake. He has to maneuver his way around the crowd, as everyone is leaving the convention, and ends up bumping into a few people. If only his friends had let him leave ten minutes earlier so he wouldn’t be in this situation. 

Louis’ eyes land on the dessert leftover from dinnertime and his eyes light up. Yes. Without missing a beat, he grabs a paper plate and adds two chocolate cupcakes onto it. Louis reaches over to get one more thing that he couldn’t resist: strawberries dipped in chocolate. It’s both healthy and unhealthy so they cancel each other out like he never ate it in the first place. 

A hand lands on Louis’ shoulder and he almost drops the plate of delicious desserts. 

“Hey, I thought maybe you ran off to hide away in your hotel room,” Harry chuckles and lets his hand slide down to rest on the middle of Louis’ back.

It’s not like Louis can exactly admit that it’s exactly what he was planning to do, so instead, he smiles. Maybe he should’ve stopped at the cupcakes and took off. 

Harry looks over Louis’ entire stance and lets his hand slide back down to his side, “Are we headed to your room or mine?” 

That is not a question that Louis was prepared for. If the two of them head back to his room then at some point he’ll probably end up having to kick Harry out, and he’s not good at speaking up in the slightest. If they end up going to Harry’s room, then he’s going to have no idea what to do with himself and second guess everything down to the point where he should sit. It’s a disaster either way. 

“Um, I think-” Louis clears his throat, “I think maybe my room would be better. I need to drop my things off anyways.” He peers down at his shoes and holds his breath. Why does anything he says sound so unnatural? 

Harry grins and nods, “That sounds like a good idea. Do you want me to carry your bag or anything?” 

“No. No, thank you,” Louis winces at the quick response. If the man didn’t notice how panicked he sounded before then he definitely does now. 

“Well then after you, I guess,” Harry motions towards the direction of the elevators. 

It’s a quiet and tense, on Louis’ part at least, ride up to the second floor. From the tremor in his hands and sweat collecting on his skin, there’s no way he’s going to try talking. It’ll only give away how nervous he is. This conversation they’re going to end up having is something he’s never done before. Louis has no clue where to start with this. All he can do is let Harry lead the way and hopefully, he’ll be able to catch up. 

The elevator doors slide open to reveal an empty hallway, and Louis leads Harry to his room that is a few doors down. Once they’re inside and the lights are on is when he finally gets to set his belongings down. After the pageant, he had managed to buy a couple of items from the vendors before he left the convention for the day. Louis brings his plate of cupcakes over to the only desk in the room. Would it be rude to start eating them when he has a guest over? It probably is. 

Harry sits himself down on the foot of the bed and rubs his hands over his thighs, “Were you kind of hoping that I forgot? I’m kind of getting the feeling that you don’t want to discuss this at all.” 

“It’s not like that,” Louis shakes his head with a frown, “I’ve just never been in this type of situation before. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say or do or anything. It’s not exactly like we can forget this entire trip ever happened and go back to work like nothing has changed. That’s terrifying to me.” 

“It’s scary,” Harry reassures and reaches out to grab a hold of Louis’s hand, “I’m scared too. I’ve never had a Little of my own before or told anyone that I’m part of this community. The Internet and this convention are about as involved as I am. Aside from babysitting Niall from time to time, of course. You have a lot more at risk than I do, we both know that, and it’s got to be terrifying to have to trust some guy you work with.” 

Louis looks down and toes at the carpet as he murmurs, “Not just some guy.” 

“Come sit down with me, love. You look exhausted.” 

Too tired to protest, Louis seats himself beside Harry and the mattress dips under the added weight. He rubs at his eyes, “It’s been kind of a long day.” 

“I’ll bet,” Harry frowns, “It was a long day for myself, so you must be extra tired. There were a lot of activities. Tomorrow will be a lot more relaxed, it’s usually everyone just exchanging contact information and getting to say goodbye.” 

Louis nods. 

Harry’s chest rumbles as he chuckles, and he pulls Louis to rest his head on his shoulder. 

“Tired,” is all Louis can manage before he drags Harry to lie down on the bed with him. A part of him almost wants to start crying just from how big of a day it was for himself. Is that childish? It sounds childish. At work, all he does is stay cooped up in a back room. At home, all he has are Netflix and a few stuffed animals. This entire trip has been nothing but an activity after activity and after another activity. It’s tiring for a Little like himself. 

Harry smoothes back Louis’ hair and the Little practically purrs under the touch. “It’s okay to slip, Lou. You’re safe with me and nothing will hurt you.” He continues to rub his hand over Louis’ sides and back in hopes of easing him into headspace or even just slipping into a deep sleep. Today took a toll on the man and there’s no one he can truly fall back on. 

After what feels like hours but has probably only been a handful of minutes, Louis’ eyes have glazed over. There’s even a thumb popped into his mouth. 

“Hi there, little love,” Harry whispers as he cups Louis’ cheek, “it’s nice to finally meet this side of you.” 

Louis’ cheeks flush as he smiles around his thumb. 

There’s an added softness to Louis’ appearance, but it’s most likely all in Harry’s head. It’s as if the sharp edges that have kept him at bay have finally worn down enough for Harry to get close. He’s in awe to say it in the least. 

How is it that Harry’s heart feels so full that it’s about to combust? This side of Louis, this Little Louis in headspace, is almost angelic in away. A porcelain doll. From the most captivating shade of blue to the feather-like eyelashes, it all feels unreal. Harry can’t help the grin that splits across his face. This man that he’s known for a whole year, who’s always been so reserved and ready to flee, has slipped into such a vulnerable state right in front of him. 

That doesn’t ever just happen. It takes a level of trust for a Little to slip into headspace right in front of someone. 

For Harry, this means everything to him. 

And given how Louis has this glint in his eyes and the dopiest smile on his lips, Harry can tell that all of this means something to him as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! I hope you liked it, truly. To all of you that have liked, commented, etc... thank you. I have to say that you guys seem to be very good at letting an author know that their writing is appreciated and it means a lot to me. Without a doubt, I want to do another Little Louis (or Little Harry) fic in the future. 
> 
> This fic in particular was meant to be short and a way for me to not only ease back into writing after a break, but also to dip my toe into a different type of content. I don't think I could have asked for a better response. I mean it when I say you guys have been so kind to me and to this story. 
> 
> If you guys don't mind, maybe comment down below some story suggestions for future projects or just let me know what your favorite part of this fic was! Mine was probably when Harry picked Louis up out of the ball pit in the last chapter.


	5. A SEQUEL

What is this? Funny you ask... it's a sequel! 

If you take a look up top, you will find that this is now being turned into a series. So go ahead and clink the link up above!

I hope, I hope it doesn't disappoint. 

I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have supported this fic. It truly means a lot to me.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? I hope you liked it. 
> 
> Please, please, comment down below your thoughts on this very different piece. Comment some scene suggestions if you wish. Comment some corrections if I got anything wrong. Etc. 
> 
> Chapter Two will be posted next Friday!
> 
> It's good to be back.. I missed you all.


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